A Scar Between Us
by Tanima8
Summary: When Soul is attacked by Crona, he is sent to the hospital. After returning home, he and Maka have to come to terms with his injury and their own feelings about it and each other. There is a touching moment between the pair as they try to move from the past and into the future together.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello! Nice to meet you, I'm Tanima. This is my first ever Fan-Fic that I have actually written down and published. It's also the first thing I've written with-out someone else proof reading it first. Needless to say I'm a little nervous. The story does pick up a little and gets more sappy. Hopefully._

 _Well, please take care of me and reviews are welcome. Thanks!_

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Maka was fighting against a girlish boy with pink hair. She was swinging Soul, who was in weapon form, around effortlessly. The boy had a strange weapon that screamed and injured Soul every time she countered. She tried to play it safe and went on the defensive, dodging all his attacks but she was losing a lot of ground. Soon, she could sense a huge locked door behind her.  
Soul was screaming at her through their soul link to attack and not worry about how much it hurt him. That he would die for her if it came to that. She couldn't let that happen, no matter the cost. She had to protect Soul.  
Maka was positioned wrong. The boy saw his opening and swung with all his might, chopping down at her. She watched helpless as Soul transformed out of weapon form and took the sword blow across the his body. His warm blood sprayed across her face and clothes. She screamed; panic filled her mind, her only thought was of Soul.

Maka jolted awake drenched in sweat. She had fallen asleep beside Soul's hospital bed; her face buried in the blankets by his hand. She sat up and searched his face, looking for signs of pain, but he slept on peacefully. Professor Stein and Doctor Medusa had patched him up and looked after him over the past several days. They even said that he could go home this evening. But no matter how many times everyone told her it was going to be okay, she knew that under Soul's shirt was a huge scar that spanned from his left shoulder down to his right hip. And it was all her fault. She could feel the tears starting. One escaped her eye and gently rolled down her cheek to fall off her chin.

Soul started to wake up. The girl quickly rubbed her tears away. She couldn't let Soul see how upset she was. He would worry about her and she didn't want that. She had to be strong for him.

"Maka?", Soul's voice was heavy with sleep "What are you doing here so early?" He looked her over, at her messy hair and crumpled clothes. "Don't tell me you were here all night..?"

"Don't be silly Soul. After they gave you that sleeping pill I went home" she lied. " I'm just stopping by before school to see if you need anything." she looked at him expectantly.

"Maka, quit worrying. I was put in here for something that I did. It's not your fault."

"Right. Sorry." She couldn't keep the pain from her voice. Faking overly cheerful she pushed on "Right, well, I'm off to school now. I'll see you at home."

"Maka..." Soul's voice trailed off a she left the room. "Damn."

Maka's school day passed in a blur. Professor Steins lecture was about dissection again. Black*Star went on about how awesome he was. Only Tsubaki look worried about her. Maka pretended her way through the day – She was absolutely exhausted by the time she got home. The girl opened her front door and went straight to her room flopping on to the bed.

"Maka?" Soul's voice drifted through the open door.

 _Shit! Soul came home today. How could I have been so stupid!_ Thought Maka, mentally chiding herself.

"Hey Soul! How are you doing? Did everything go well today? Are you hungry? Thirsty?" She had reached where he sat in the living room. She knew she was going over board, but couldn't help it.

"Relax Maka." Soul's husky voice calmed her down a little. "I'm supposed to take it easy, so I ordered pizza for both of us tonight. To celebrate my return." He gave her a cheeky, lop-sided grin. His pointy teeth all the more apparent as he looked up at her from his lounged position on the couch.

Just then the door bell rang. Pizza had arrived. Maka brought it in and they sat in comfortable silence eating and watching tv.

"Alright." Soul said suddenly. " I need a shower and a good night sleep for my cool return to school tomorrow." Maka couldn't help but giggle. Just a little but the first time she had honestly smiled since Soul's injury.

"Don't forgot tonight's homework!" she called after his retreating back.

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 _Well, that's it for this chapter. I really hope you enjoyed it. Please give me feedback, I know I'm not the best at punctuation and stuff. I will hopefully have the next chapter out in the next few days. Regardless if people like it or not, I will be finishing the story. As a matter of accomplishment if nothing else. :p Thanks for reading!_

 _-Tanima_


	2. Chapter 2

_First off, Thank you so much for everyone who had reviewed, liked or followed my story! It is very encouraging to hear that you all like it. I do apologize for the shortness of this chapter, but there will be more soon. I hope you continue to enjoy the story._

 _-Tanima_

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Maka sat back in her chair by her desk after having just finished her own homework. The clock on her dresser read 10:04. She had already brushed her teeth and hair and washed her face; all that she needed to do was get into bed. She knew that when she fell asleep though, the nightmares would come back to her. As much as she wanted to avoid the nightmares, she had to go to sleep. Her eyes were sore and drooping on their own. She curled into bed, arranging the blankets tight around her curled up form, as if trying to protect herself from the night terrors.

There was the pink haired boy again – or girl, Maka was never quite sure. The attacks and the dodging. The sword coming for her. And Soul's blood instead of pain and he shielded her with his own body. Even though she knew it was coming, the terror that took hold of her was the same every time. She woke up in her normal cold sweat. She looked at the clock by her dresser again. 3:52. Through the wall, she could hear Soul tossing and turning, having his own nightmares. It was all her fault that he was having nightmares. If she had just been stronger, like Black*Star, none of this would have happened.

She let all the sorrow build up until, finally, she couldn't hold it in an longer. Her shoulders started shaking and her eyes flowed like rivers. She sobbed quietly into her pillow, trying not to make too much noise lest she disturb her room-mate. She cried until her eyes were sore again and her voice raw from silent wailing. Finally when she had no more energy to even feel sad, she let sleep take her once again.

Soul woke from his own nightmare. _It's just a dream, Maka is fine_ he kept repeating to himself. He looked at his clock. 4:08. Once he had calmed down and tried getting back to sleep he realized he could hear something from the neighbouring room. It was quiet and muffled. He strained to hear it against the silence of the night. He knew it wasn't that cool to eves drop, but what was Maka doing at 4 in the morning? He realized when her heard her hiccup and quietly gasp for air that she was crying. His heart dropped like a stone. He got up and crept out side her door, about to knock. _Jeeze, this is so uncool. Creeping outside Maka's door while she is obviously trying to hide the fact that she is crying. What am I even going to say? "Hey Maka, It's okay? Alls well that ends well?" "It could have been anyone." "I did it as a weapon protecting their Meister." "I did it because I love you."_ While they were all true, he didn't feel as though anything he said would make the situation better. And the last one was just going to add fuel to the fire.

As he snuck back into his own bed, he decided to talk to her about it over breakfast. Not that he had heard her, but just to make sure she was okay - give her a chance to tell him. With that thought, he drifted off into a somewhat more peaceful sleep.

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 _Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it. See you next time. :3_

 _-Tanima_


	3. Chapter 3

_Forgot to mention, I don't own Soul Eater, any of the characters or many of the events referenced in this story. They are all the thought property of Atsushi Okubo. Rights reserved by Square Enix, Funimation and probably a few others. I just enjoy thinking about the characters out side the main story line. I hope you will enjoy this story as much as I do. :)_

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They both woke up late; neither teen had slept all that well after all. As they rushed to get all their books together – well, Soul rushed, Maka's were all ready in her bag ready to go – and get food before heading to school, Soul tried to bring it up.  
"Hey Maka, I was just wondering -"  
"If you aren't wondering _exactly_ how many minutes there are before first bell, I suggest you quite talking and hurry up." she interrupted him, cramming the last corner of a slice of toast into her mouth  
 _Over lunch then maybe..._ Soul thought as he did what he was told.

They wizzed through the streets of Death City and parked his motorbike outside the school just as the warning bell rang. Maka all but dragged him to class at top speed. They got there, a little out of breath, just before professor Stein.  
Lunch passed while surrounded by Kid, Liz, Patty, Tsubaki and Black*Star. While he was really glad he had such good friends, he couldn't help being a little worried about Maka. It would be super uncool to talk to her about it with everyone there, and she seemed like she was holding up okay. He decided to let it go for now and enjoy his time with his friends. After all, his coolness factor had sky-rocketed since his time in the hospital wing. The rumours were mostly true too. The one he liked the most was the one that said that after taking the devastating blow (which had in actual fact made him faint), he had gotten up and beat the living daylights out of the demon sword Ragnarok.  
The bell interrupted his thoughts and Black*Star's ranting about how it was his hansom mug that had brought Soul back to health so quickly. Soul was glad on Black*Stars behalf that the bell had rung because Maka looked murderous and was gripping her hard-cover book very tightly. Maka-Chops were nothing to be taken lightly.

Soon the school day was over and they were on their way back home. He closed the front door to their flat and took a deep breath and turned to Maka, but she was already in the kitchen. He knew something was up now. She had hardly looked at him all day and it seemed like she was actively trying to avoid him now. He kicked off his shoes and walked into the kitchen with his hands in his pockets.  
Maka was already starting to cook dinner.  
"Hey Maka, I wanted to talk to you" Soul started.  
"What is it Soul?" Maka didn't turn around and looked extremely occupied with cutting the onions that lay on the chopping board in front of her. It was almost as if she knew what Soul wanted to talk about and was desperately trying to avoid it.  
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay, ya'know? I don't want you thinking that any of this" Soul vaguely indicated his chest "was your fault. Don't go beating yourself up about it. It would have happened to any 1 star Meister."  
"Yeah, but it didn't happen to any 1 star Meister, it happened to us." She replied matter-of-factly, still really intent on the onions. "But don't worry about me Soul, I'm fine. I've learned from my mistake and am ready to move on." She scraped the thoroughly minced onions into a pan. She turned around with a hand on her hip.  
"Is that all?" She asked with a bit more attitude than she had probably intended.  
"Yeah" Soul backed off a bit. Maka didn't seem to be in the mood for him to try and push the topic just yet. Trying to lighten the mood a little he continued "Let me know when dinner is ready short-stack."  
She snorted indignantly and turned around, concentrating on the food once again.

Dinner passed in somewhat awkward silence. After Maka had caught him up on the last weeks worth of school he missed, there didn't really seem to be anything to talk about. Each teen was wrapped up in their own thoughts. As soon as she was done eating Maka stood up abruptly.  
"Well, it's time for me to start homework." and with that she was gone.

Soul felt, well, he didn't really know the word, but he felt like there was someone crushing his chest. He couldn't quite breathe as deeply as normal, and he hardly felt like eating as he picked at the last of his plate. Was it worry? Sadness? _Probably a mix of both._ Guilt? His mind rested on the word for a long time as he loaded the dishwasher. It was his fault Maka was feeling this way. If he had not been injured... _Maka would have died_. He didn't regret his actions, he just wished Maka would be okay. He spend the rest of the night wondering how to fix things with his partner – how to express his feelings about her and his own actions.

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Thanks for reading! Comments and reviews are more than welcome. :3

-Tanima


	4. Chapter 4

_Hi Everyone,_

 _Thanks for coming on this journey with me. This will be the last chapter of this story. Sorry that it took a little longer than I hoped. It was a bit difficult to get right. And even now I think it could be better I just don't know how to fix it. If you would like, I welcome reviews._

 _Well, thanks for reading :D_

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Maka sat in front of her homework frustrated with herself. All her books lay open on the desk but she really didn't feel like studying right now. The girl stared unseeing at the pages as she recalled the scene from the kitchen. _I can't believe that you snapped at him. He is only worried about you. It's not his fault that you got him hurt and now feel guilty about it. If you could just be stronger, then none of this would have happened..._ She tried shaking the negative thoughts from her mind, they always seemed to end with anger and self-loathing. She started to wonder if her behaviour was noticeably out of the ordinary for Soul to approach her like he did. She would have been mortified if she knew the real reason. She had thought she was being discreet enough. It's not like she didn't have practice at it; what with her drunk, womanising father and her confident, independent mother and their yelling matches. She came back from her weird train of thought and started on her homework.  
Her studies had always calmed her down and taken her mind off the things she couldn't control. Like her father. _What was he thinking lecturing me about reading in low light? What a dufus._ She thought idly back to earlier that evening as she scanned the chapter on soul resonance. Although, what he had said next did worry her. More than she wanted to admit. _Black blood is running through Souls veins._ And there was no way to know how it would affect her. There was nothing in the book about it. _Guess it's not exactly a regular occurrence._ Doubt and guilt was starting to seep into the corners of her mind again. She shut the book tightly on the chapter on soul resonance and started reading about soul perception. She was quickly engrossed in the new material.

She was finally finished all the assigned work for the night and her own regimen of review. It was only 8:30, so she decided to get herself a cup of tea and read her novel before sleep. Maybe that would calm her down enough to avoid the nightmares tonight. The girl sighed – doubtful, but she could hope. As she was putting all her books away, ready for the next day, she realized she could hear the shower running. _Soul must have jumped in. I'll go brush my teeth when he comes out.  
_ A little while after she had made her tea, she heard the shower stop. She finished the last sip of her drink, placed her bookmark and headed into the hall - coming face to face with Soul. He was wearing only his pajama pants. His white hair was dripping wet and his scar was bright pink from the heat of the water he had just emerged from.

Maka's whole body froze in shock – her stomach suddenly squeezed in the most unpleasant fashion and she felt unable to breathe. She quickly averted her gaze from the line that ravaged Soul's otherwise flawless features. She was nauseous with guilt at the sight of his scar. Looking at the ground she tried to step around Soul mumbling a "Scuse me". Soul stepped in front of her, blocking her path. She tried to step the other way but he cut her off again.  
"Maka, look at me." he said sternly, with almost a hint of anger. After a moment he added, much more gently "Please..." His voice was so soft that Maka almost felt cruel for refusing. Slowly, she took a breath and stared him right in the face – making sure she didn't look at his chest, or she would start crying.  
"Does my scar bother you that much Maka?" Soul asked keeping his gentle tone. The girl didn't trust her voice, so she just shook her head; her pony tails swinging slightly with the motion.  
Soul couldn't help thinking about how cute she looked, standing in the hallway, pigtails swinging. But his heart was breaking at the situation. He felt like he was letting her down – he wanted to do something to make her feel better.  
"I feel like I let you down Soul" Maka confessed suddenly, looking back down at her shoes, hands fidgeting in front of her. "I let you get so badly hurt and yet you look at me with such kindness. Why are you worried about me? You are the one that nearly died." she barely managed to get the last few words out, her voice was trembling so much. She could feel tears begin to fall down her face.  
Soul grabbed Maka's hand and placed it on his chest – on his scar. Shocked by his unexpected action, Maka looked up into Soul's impassioned crimson eyes.  
"But I didn't die. I'm still right here with you Maka." his was voice deep and husky.  
This didn't seem to help as Maka bust into earnest tears and stepped forward clinging to Soul, sobbing into his broad chest. He was surprised by her actions, but wrapped his arms around her slender, shaking shoulders. Gently, he lowered his head to rest on hers. He felt her body relax slightly as he held her close.

Maka didn't know why she had needed Soul so badly just then, but holding his solid body and hearing his strong heart beat just below her ears made her feel much better. Perhaps it was the final proof she needed that he was back from the brink of death.  
The two of them stayed in the narrow hallway holding each other for countless minutes. Soul broke the silence first.  
"Maka ... I lov-"  
Maka interrupted him by suddenly pushing him away with both hands. She was looking down, her eyes shut tight and was shaking her head vigorously.  
"No. I know what you are about to say, and just don't. Not here, not like this." She had heard his heart beat quicken in the moments before he spoke. Soul's expression turned into a mix of shock, pain and a tinge of betrayal in the matter of a moment. She continued "Help me become a stronger Meister, and when you are a Death Scythe face me head on. That's what a cool guy would do." She smiled up at him weakly, making eye contact again. She couldn't wait to love Soul back, but when they were a bit older. There was too much craziness with the witch and the black blood to deal with for now. She really hoped that he understood her intentions.  
Soul grinned down at his feisty Meister, his crimson eyes meeting her watery emerald ones. She was far too practical to make bad decisions like this; just one more thing he loved about her.  
"Okay. Let's get stronger together." He said extending his hand. They shook hands, understanding the emotions, thoughts and intentions of the other. Their soul wavelengths became more synchronized and their love and trust grew stronger. They would face whatever came their way head-on. Together.

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 _Hi everyone,_

 _I really hoped you have enjoyed this last chapter and the story in general. A huge thank you to the, like, 10 people who have followed/favourited my story. You guys rock. :D  
_

 _This is the last chapter but I will be writing more Soul Eater in the future, so feel free to look out for it. :P_

 _\- Tanima  
_


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